Anchor mechanism for well-packers.



G, A. SPANG. ANCHOR MEGHANISM FOR WELL PAGKERS.

APPLICATION FILED APB. 7, 19.08.

Patented 0@t.6,1`9o8.

4UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcEj GEORGE A. sPANG, oF BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNoR'To sPANe a COMPANY, or

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, AcoRPoRATIoN or PENNSYLVANIA.

ANCHOR MEcHANIsM Fon WELL-PACKERS.'

, Specification of Letters Patent; l

Patented oct. e, 1908.

' Application mea April v, 190s. serial No. 425,6o9.

To all whom 'it may concern;

Be it knownthat I, GEORGE A. SPANG, a resident of Butler, in the -county of Butler andl State of Pennsylvania, have invented 5 certain new and useful Improvements in Anchor Mechanism for YWell-Packers, of which the following is a specification'.

The object of this invention is to provide packer anchoring means of improved con- 1o struction wherein no trip or other movable or threaded parts are-employed inthe operation of settingv the packer, the. anchoring thereof beingfaccomplished wholly by rotation of the packer with relation to the anchor and by a vert-ical movement therethrough, fixed means of improved construction being applied for positively limiting the ldownward movement of the packer tube through the anchor when being inserted in a well,

2o which means is rendered inoperative by a partial turn of the packer when the anchor is to be set` thus permitting the packer to so lower as to expand thevanchor into holding engagement with the well wall. I The invention consists' in the; novel features of construction, and in the combination of parts, hereinafter fully described and by the accompanyclaimed, and illustrated ing drawings, wherein p l Figure I is an elevation of the lower portion of a packer equipped with'the improved anchor mechanism, the latter partly in section and in the position it maintains with relation to the packer body when being lowered in a well. 4 Fig. 2 is an elevation of the anchor mechanism, showing the packer body at the upper limit of movement with relation to the anchor, as 'when the anchor has been lowered the required 40 distance and is to be set.

similar to Fig. 1, showing the mechanism in set. position. Figs. 4 and 5 aredetail views of the ring-like body of the anchor.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates 4'5 the tubular body of a packer of usual construction, having the stop-forming collar 3 at its lower end, and at its upper `end the downwardly tapered anchor'` expanding member 4, which also forms'the lower abut- S0-ment for the rubber sleeve or annulus 5 vwhich is pressed and expandedinto engagement with the'well wall when the packer is anchored and collapsed, all'as well known in `the art.

` The anchor consists of'ring-like member 6,;

being shown Fig. 3 is a View,

ywhich lcomprises the lower end of the anchor structure and which lits snugly on tube 2 and is capable of Vertical movement thereon.

`Projecting upwardly from ring 6 are the sprlng slip arms 7 carrying at their up el' ends upwardly tapered slips 7. ,The slips -are normally yout .of wall-engaging position but are adapted to be expan ed and tightly grip the wall by the tapered expanding member 4. Coincident with each of spring arms 7 is an outwardly bowed leaf spring 8,

.these springs being compressed by the well u Wall and 'opposing downward movement of the packer and at the same time preventing the 'anchor from rotating.

4 9 is' a strip-like rib extending longitudinally of body 2 with its lower end stopping short of collar 3, while at a suitable point between its ends is.shoulder 10.

The inner face of anchor ring 6 is formed with two Vertical grooves or depressions 11` and 12, preferably though not necessarily arranged diametrically opposite each other. Both grooves are of sufficient width to receive rib 9 and permit the anchor` ring to move' upwardly when either groove is in register therewith. f The grooves are, however,'of different depth. Groove 11 1s only deep enough 4to accommodate rib 9, and hence/shoulder 10 engages the upper end of theV ring and prevents the packer body from moving further downward, with expander 4-above slip-expandingposition, all as shown in Fig. 1. This is the position the parts maintain as the packer is being lowered and until it'reaches the point where it is to be set. It will be understood that springs 8 oppose downward movement of the anchor, so that while thus moving, the packer body lowers asy far through the anchor as shoulder 10 will permit. At the same. time the interlock-ing connection of rib 9 and groove 11 prevent the parts from turning independently of'each other.

When the packer has been lowered to position, the movement is reversed and the packer body raised in the frictionally held anchor until collar 3 strikes the anchor ring 6, thereby moving the llower end of rib 9 above the plane of the ring. The packer body is then free to turn in theanchor and is turned sufficiently to place the deeper groove 12 in register with rib 9 and the v packer body is again lowered. As groove 12 is of suliicient depth-to permit shoulder `as to receive the lower end of rib 10 to i pass therethrough, the downward movement continues until member moves between and expands slip heads 7 into engagement with the well wall, thus permanently anchoring the packer, as shown in Figf 3. 'l With the packer thus securely ixed it 1s manipulated in the ,usual manner for expanding the rubber into engagement with the wall. Grooves 11 and 12 are preferably formed with rounded or inclined ed esso even though the latter may not be in exact alinement with the through portions thereof.

To release the packer, it is only necessary to raise Vthe anchor body, thus withdrawing expander 4 from between the slips, and wlth the body thus raised it is turned sufficiently to place rib 9 in register with groove 1 1, whereupon the packer may be lowered still further if desired, the engagement of shoulder 10 with rib 6 preventing the slips from being` expanded, or the packer may be freely raised in the well, as circumstances may renire. q It is the usual practice to use a wire line for lowering the casing or tubing to which the packer is attached. In this operation the line frequently becomes twisted, causing the casing or tubing and packer to swirl in the hole. This movement would release the anchor mechanism of many forms of packers and cause them toV set prematurely. With the resent improvement this is impossible as t e parts are positively locked against lateral movement one on the other while being lowered and cannot so move as long as the packer body remains depressed in the anchor mechanism. Hence, any swirling resulting from the twisting of the line must move the packer as a whole and without changing the relative positions of the parts.

It is characteristic of the invention that the means employed for determining the relative positions of the anchor and packer body are all positively fixed, there being no movable tri s, screw'threads or other parts to get out o order. Furthermore, the parts are so nonrotatably connected in the dili'erent positions as to prevent accidental turning of one with relation to the other, so that whatever the position of the parts may be they are fixed in such position.

I claim 1. The combination of a tube, an expan- 'sible anchor through whichthe tube is movable vertically and in which it is rotatable when fully raised with relation to the anchor, the anchor having two vertical grooves-one larger than the other, two lateral projections on the tube at dierent elevations thereon and both adapted to pass through the larger groove, the upper projection being larger than the lower projectiontoo large to pass through the smaller roove, and anchor expanding means carried by the tube and operative when the upper projection and larger groove are in register.

2. The combination, of a tube, an expansible anchor through which the tube is movable vertically and in which it is rotatable when fully raised with relation to the anchor, a rib disposed longitudinally of the tube with a shoulder on the rib, the anchor having two vertical passageways for the rib-one deeper than the other and adapted to pass` the shoulder theretlnough, said shoulder adapted to engage the anchor when in register with the shallower passageway and stop downward movement of the tube through the anchor, and anchor-expanding means movable with the tube and operative when the shoulder and deeper passageway are in register.

3. In a packer, the combination of a tube. an anchor through which the tube is movable vertically and in which it is rotatable when i fully raised in relation to the anchor, the anchor consisting of a base ring and upwardly projecting laterally expansible slips carried by the ring with means on the anchor for frictionally engaging the well wall, a stop on the tube for engaging the lower end of the anchor, a laterally projecting rib extending longitudinally of the tube, the lower end of the rib being above said stop and a shoulder on the rib above the lower end of the latter, the anchor ring having two depressions in its inner face-one deeper than the other-and through each of which the rib is adapted to move, said shoulder engaging the anchor ring when the rib is in register with the shallower depression and thus ylimiting the downward movement of the tube in the packer, and means carried by the tube for expanding said slips and operative when the rib is in register with the deeper ring-depression through which said shoulder is adapted to move downward.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

'GEORGE A. srANe.

Witnesses WIN@ 

